The future of Colombian star James Rodriguez is in the hands of Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, according to comments by the club president on Monday.
James was left out of the squad for the Spanish giants’ 4-1 Champions League victory over Juventus on Saturday raising credible speculation that he is close to the exit door.
Florentino Perez, the club president says that the club will discuss the future of the Cucuta-born attacker with the manager who will have the final say.
“We’re going to speak with Zidane, who’s the conductor of this orchestra. If it were up to me, everyone would stay,” he told Spanish television network Antena 3.
“James is an incredible player, but when you have so many… I’d have everyone stay. We’ll speak with the coach; he is the person who will decide the future,” added Perez.
Colombia’s James Rodriguez waves apparent goodbye to Real Madrid fans
Despite an upturn in form in the final games of the league, James will be bitterly disappointed not to have featured for his side in it’s historic 12th triumph in Europe’s top competition.
Over the course of this year’s competition, the Colombia captain played just 318 minutes in six of Real Madrid’s 13 games leading up to the final, registering two assists.
Nonetheless, Zidane’s decision to exclude James may have been justified as “Los Galacticos” produced a scintillating display in Cardiff to become the first team to win back-to-back Champions Leagues since the competition’s modern format began in 1992.
Is Manchester United next for Colombia’s James Rodriguez?
The most recent rumors from the media in Britain claim that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, who has the same agent as James in Jorge Mendes has lined up a move for the Colombian in part exchange for goalkeeper David de Gea who could move in the opposite direction.
One Colombian media outlet recently claimed that the 25-year old has even signed a pre-contract agreement with the record Premier League winners.
Since top scoring at the 2014 World Cup and moving to Spanish giants Real Madrid from Monaco for €80 million, the Colombian attacker has struggled with consistency in his performances.
He enjoyed an excellent debut season under coach Carlo Ancelotti scoring 17 goals and providing 18 assists in all competitions but subsequently fell out of favor with former coach Rafa Benitez and has a strained relationship with current boss Zidane.
The Colombian fell down the pecking order in a squad that boasts the talents of players such as Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema, Kroos, and Modric.
